Contradictions
by Tierney Beckett
Summary: A strange occurrence during some rare free time has Richard very confused about Kahlan in particular and women in general.  My first LotS fanfic.  Rated T just to be on the safe side.


A/N: Okay. I've never written Legend of the Seeker fanfiction before. But I got this idea this morning when I had to get my husband to do something for me. Also, we did nothing but watch the show this weekend. So that might be why it's in my head.

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"Richard!"

At the sound of Kahlan's scream, Richard burst into the small building ready for a fight. The most dangerous thing in the room, however, was the sight of Kahlan in a tub, her body barely covered by the water. He quickly averted his eyes and looked at the ceiling. There was silence for a while before he finally spoke.

"Please tell me you did not just scare me to death for…that."

"Kill it," was her helpful response.

He rolled his eyes and finally looked down at her. She looked absolutely terrified. A voice whispered to him that it wouldn't be wise to push her. Unfortunately, he ignored it.

"Why don't you kill it?" he asked.

Kahlan looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. The clear irritation in her expression made him begin to wonder the same thing.

"I don't have anything to kill it with, Richard. Would you just…do what I ask? Please?"

Was she…begging? No. But it was too close to begging for Richard. It unnerved him. Kahlan should never have to beg him for anything. He bit down on his response that she could've used her hands (What was WRONG with him today, anyway?), stepped forward, and used his own hands. Somehow, another thought slipped out of his mouth in the process.

"It's just a grass spider, Kahlan. It won't hurt you."

If looks could kill, Richard knew Zedd would've been searching for a new Seeker in the immediate future.

"If I wanted a lesson in nature, Seeker, I would've called for Zedd to come educate me about the eight-legged monster that was lowering itself towards my bath instead of calling for you to come kill it."

Richard looked at the deceased form in his hands. Monster? She was joking, right? He stared at her in disbelief for a moment until remembering that she was still taking a bath. And she was still very much…without apparel. He started to say something in response before recalling that she had addressed him as 'Seeker'. Never a good sign. Without another word, he turned and headed out the door. Zedd met him just outside.

"What happened?" the wizard asked.

"I think…I think Kahlan's afraid of spiders," Richard didn't really know how to handle such information. He had never thought Kahlan to be afraid of anything. She'd risked death just to find him, fought by his side for months, withstood torture and unimaginable pain. A spider? That's what it took to bring Kahlan to her knees?

"Circumstances play a large part in our fears, my boy," Zedd stated, sensing Richard's disbelief. "Kahlan isn't used to being vulnerable. You know that. She is always in control. I doubt that a spider seen in the woods would be seen in the same way as a spider during her bath. Which she's been taking for the past HOUR!"

Richard winced as Zedd raised his voice, surprised when Kahlan's response came back in an almost teasing tone of voice.

"It takes quite a long time to wash my hair, Zedd. You of all people should understand what a trial long hair can be sometimes."

"Be that as it may, some of us would also like to take a bath. Before all the water gets cold?"

Both men were surprised when the door suddenly opened, revealing a fully-dressed Kahlan. She smiled brilliantly at both of them.

"Complain all you want, Zedd. I imagine it would take very little effort for a Wizard of the First Order to make cold water hot."

Zedd smiled back, enjoying the rare glimpse of Kahlan's carefree mood.

"No, it wouldn't."

"I didn't think so," she responded, moving out of the doorway and making her way past them. "Oh, and thank you for the rescue, Richard."

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, surprised when he saw the sincerity in her expression.

"Uh…your welcome. Any time."

She smiled and nodded before continuing back up to their camp. Richard and Zedd watched her go, a puzzled look on the younger man's face, an almost amused look on the other.

"I don't understand her sometimes," Richard finally said.

Zedd clapped him on the shoulder, turning Richard to face him.

"My boy, I speak not as a Wizard to his Seeker, but as a grandfather to his grandson. You may not understand her now, but that situation will never change. So you will have plenty of time to adjust to the feeling."

Richard watched his grandfather disappear into the building and close the door, whistling as he prepared for his own bath.

"Well, that makes me feel so much better," he grumbled under his breath.

"Would you have it any other way?" Zedd's voice came through the walls. Pushing aside his irritation at the wizard's hearing abilities, Richard concentrated on the question. His eyes fell on Kahlan again, standing on the top of the hill in the sunshine. She looked incredibly relaxed, more so than he had ever seen her. Her eyes were closed, her face raised to the warmth of the light. Even with all the appearance of being lost to the world around her, though, Richard could detect the stance of her body. Every sense on alert for something amiss in her surroundings. A woman drinking in the warmth and beauty of her location and prepared for any type of danger at the same time. A contradiction in terms.

As if sensing his gaze, she opened her eyes and looked down to where he stood. A brilliant smile crossed her face, one he rarely saw and one he knew would be filed away in his memories with the others. He smiled back at her before responding to his grandfather.

"No," he admitted. "I couldn't imagine it any other way."

FIN


End file.
